Electronic circuits and, more particularly, the more complex circuits found in computer logic systems, frequently employ one or more printed circuit or wiring boards on which various components or elements are mounted. To electronically interconnect these components to printed circuit boards for feeding electrical power and signals to the circuit elements, various connector arrangements are utilized. Examples of components of the external system are integrated circuit chips, adapter cards, and insulating packages that typically have leads in the form of pads on the surface or other contacts extending therefrom in rows to form planar disposed arrays which are then matched with conductive pads or features on the printed wiring boards. Interconnection between the conductive pads or leads of a component to the conductive pads, connective features, or traces of a circuit board is accomplished in a number of ways, including soldering. In instances in which the removal and replacement of components is necessary during the life of a system, other suitable electrical connectors can be used. In the latter case, electrical connection between printed circuit boards and external systems can be provided by gold contacts, as edge tabs, chip tabs, and lands.
The gold contacts atop lands and tabs are typically provided by electrodeposition. Electrodeposition of gold has been the preferred method for plating gold, since deposited gold has improved hardness compared to electroless plated gold. This hardness is desirable in order to provide contact sites with high durability, especially where components might be replaced multiple times. However, a major disadvantage with electrolytic gold plating is the need for commoning bars to provide electrical connections to the features to be plated. These commoning bars require fairly large footprints on the printed wiring board, ultimately wasting valuable space that could otherwise be used for placement of additional circuitry or other features. In the field of fine line circuitry, such space is simply unavailable.
Since printed circuits are normally formed on boards or laminate sheets made of various epoxy compositions or fiberglass and relatively thin layers of copper which have been etched or deposited to define the desired circuit, the problem in each case is one of coupling from the relatively thin circuit conductor leads which are “printed” on the board to either a solder site or a mechanical connector which is generally three-dimensional.
As previously mentioned, numerous types and varieties of modern equipment and devices require sophisticated interconnection of electronic components. With the recent strong trend toward reduced sizes in electronic components and the resulting high density of conductive interconnection surfaces on such equipment, there have been increased demands on the performance of contacts used to provide such interconnections.
In the past decade, the density per unit area of electronic devices, such as very large scale integrated circuits (VLSIs), has greatly increased. By some estimates, this increase in density has been 10,000 times greater than what it was in the earliest days of the technology. The space or area available outside of a VLSI in which to make the large number of necessary connections to and from it is becoming almost immeasurable compared to previous standards. Contrary to the density increase of VLSIs, the density of the passive circuit interconnections, such as connectors, has increased (i.e., the parts have decreased in size) by the relatively small factor of approximately 4 to 1. This presents the difficult problem of providing connections to and from the VLSIs that are both small enough to fit the spaces available and sufficiently reliable and manufacturable to be economically useful.
As interconnections are made smaller and smaller, the problems associated with manufacturing and assembling these miniature parts seem to grow exponentially. A conventional pin and socket connector part, e.g., a 25 square metal wire-wrap post, has sufficient size and strength to be easily made and handled with conventional techniques. Typically, parts of such “large” size are assembled into connector systems having “large” centers, such as one-tenth by one-tenth inch; however, connectors this large are unwieldy and outdated in the environment of the VLSIs of today.
It is more difficult to achieve a “safe” minimum contact when the individual contacts of a connector are made smaller and smaller to achieve higher density. The miniature parts such as pins and sockets do not have as much mechanical strength as larger parts, and strength usually decreases exponentially rather than linearly as size decreases. Thus, all factors of size, strength, contact force, uniformity, and stability must be dealt with when designing a high density electronic connector where reliable performance is essential.
It is also highly desirable that the contact resistance remains stable at a very low value like a few milliohms throughout the service life of the connector. The contact resistance of mating parts in an electrical connector is extensively discussed in the literature (see, for example, Electrical Contacts by Ragnar Holm, published by Springer-Verlag). An important factor in the stability of the contact resistance is the character or quality of the interface or mating surfaces of the contacts. These surfaces should be free of contaminants, substantially immune to oxidation or corrosion, and held together with minimum force sufficient to ensure intimate metal-to-metal contact.
These considerations, especially where high quality electronic connectors are involved, lead to the use of gold (or a similar noble metal) in the contact areas and to contact designs providing normal contact forces for each pair of contacts in the range from approximately 100 gms to 150 gms (about 4 oz.). The mating forces of the halves of the connector can easily reach a hundred or more pounds, when hundreds of pairs of contacts of a single connector are involved. Thus, it is highly desirable for a high density connector to minimize the mating or insertion force, while maintaining normal contact forces (approximately 100 grams).
It is desirable to provide a high density electronic connector system that provides very low, stable contact resistance together with thermal and mechanical stability (durability), as well as low mating force. It is also desirable to provide an economical and effective method of manufacturing and assembling such a connector system with the precision and uniformity required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,550, issued to Horibe et al. on Nov. 19, 1991 for ELECTRIC CONTACT, discloses an electric contact having a copper-based layer with a nickel-based layer coated thereon, followed by a palladium-based layer coated on the nickel layer and a gold layer coated on top of the palladium layer. The nickel-based layer as disclosed requires the presence of non-crystalline nickel, which may be alone or in contact with a second layer of nickel in crystalline form. The thickness of the nickel layer or layers is reported to be in the range of 0.8–2.0 microns. As a comparative example, Horibe et al. teach that if an exclusively crystalline nickel layer of a 1.0 micron thickness is used, whether in the presence or absence of a gold top coat layer, the resistance over a period of 24 hours grows unacceptably large. Furthermore, Horibe et al. teach the use of electroplated gold. Therefore, Horibe et al. miss the benefit of the current invention, viz., that commoning wiring can be avoided for the manufacture of gold plated interconnects. Horibe et al. also do not describe or teach that, although a crystalline nickel layer at 1–2 micron failed in their system, thicker layers of nickel will provide beneficial properties, as disclosed in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,526, issued to Frankenthal et al. on Oct. 18, 1994 for COPPER-BASED METALLIZATIONS FOR HYBRID INTEGRATED CIRCUITS, describes a new metallization for interconnects that is a composite of subsequent metal layers beginning with a layer of titanium and having in ascending order the following composition: Ti—TiPd—Cu—Ni—Au. No reference is made to changing the order of the metal layers to have palladium (Pd) or titanium/palladium (TiPd) in the layer between the nickel (Ni) layer and the gold (Au) layer. Without this specific juxtaposition (Ni—Pd—Au), the current invention would be inoperative.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,808, issued to Farooq et al. on Aug. 27, 1996 for METHOD FOR FORMING CAPPED COPPER ELECTRICAL INTERCONNECTS, a novel composition of capped copper that is useful for electrical interconnects is disclosed. An integrated circuit material is disclosed, not a printed wiring board, as in the present invention. The capping of copper is shown to have up to three capping layers. Each capping layer contains copper, aluminum, gold, or nickel. No mention is made of the benefit of using palladium as the penultimate layer underneath the ultimate gold layer. Furthermore, the '808 patent teaches the use of electroplating to apply the noble metal layers. This process requires the use of a commoning wire, which is specifically excluded in the present invention.
In a co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/873,060 entitled “Universal Surface Finish For DCA, SMT and Pad on Pad Interconnections,” filed Jun. 11, 1997, to the same assignee of the present invention, a multilayered interconnect of similar coating hierarchy is described, viz. Cu—Ni—Pd—Au. In this co-pending patent application, layer thicknesses are disclosed. For the two precious metal layers, the disclosed thicknesses are significantly higher than those of the present invention. Besides the obvious cost benefit derived from reducing layer thickness, there is the less obvious benefit of exploiting the hardness of the palladium layer (260 to 300 Knoop), allowing soft gold (60 to 90 Knoop) to be used as the final top layer. Additionally, palladium, even as a thin coated layer, significantly assists in promoting adhesion to the nickel diffusion or metal barrier layer. With the thicker layers described in the co-pending application, this benefit is lost.